Back to the Future: The Future's Bright, The Future's Social #likeminds
November 28, 2010Are you turning your hunches into great ideas?
December 3, 2010
Yesterday I caught up with Jim Prior of The Partners (http://www.the-partners.com/), who I was lucky enough to interview for RARE Business. We were chatting about the book, the philosophy and the future plans that we are currently developing (more on that later).
Anyway, our chat got round to branding and what that means for business, building connections with customers and future growth.
Now, when it comes to branding The Partners are leaders in their field. Over the last 25 years, The PartnersΒ has been the most creatively awarded agency in the UK (Design Week League Table November 2009) and offer brand consultancy and design services to national and international clients, including Vodafone, Deloitte, Aviva, Astra Zeneca and The National Gallery.
Suffice to say that when they talk about branding it’s worth listening to.
What Jim said, and it is something that I have written about here and here before, is that its not enough for businesses to think about their brand as just being a logo or a smart piece of design or a letterhead or a great new slogan but it is something that has to run right through your business.
So much so, that when The Partners are now asked to consult on new (re)branding projects they look to make sure that any major rebrand is accompanied by a significant internal or culture change programme. This is to make sure that any change in the brand is completely embedded and reflected into the company, its people and in the way they do business, interact with each other and their customers. Why? Because they believe that it is the only way that a brand change will be sustainable and really drive new growth and customer relationships.
After all, if you want to deliver a consistent customer experience, there’s little point having what you say that you do or stand for not being echoed by what you do or say both internally and externally.
From my point of view, I would suggest that what you say and do internally is probably as important, if not more so, for your brand than anything else.
It’s a bit like the picture above……Brighton rock is Brighton rock on the outside and on the inside. But, its the lettering inside that really defines what is Brighton Rock and what is not.
So, is your brand ‘printed’ on the inside of your business? If not, what’s the main challenges to making sure your brand is reflected both inside and outside of your business?
Thanks to atomicShed for the image.
18 Comments
Is your brand like Brighton Rock? http://bit.ly/eXKM7Z
RT @adrianswinscoe: Is your brand like Brighton Rock? http://bit.ly/eXKM7Z
Quite a timely piece for me. The organization I work for is currently in the process of integrating after a major acquisition. We’re putting together two very different companies and one of the cardinal differences is that one of the two had a very unique and identifiable culture, whereas the other was more disparate and scattered as far as culture across their business. The idea of “imprinting” culture is one that we deal with every day in attempting to replicate the cultural success of the acquiring company in the acquired. Companies could learn a lot from this post – cultural change is no small task!
Hi Matt,
Thanks for dropping by and sharing your own current experience of internal branding particularly following an acquisition.
Culture, people and internal branding is so important, particularly when integrating two companies. There is a statistic that says that between 2/3rds and 3/4s of all mergers/acquisitions destroy value because of one reason….they forget about the people element of the equation.
If you have any other questions about this or on the issues at hand in your current company then just let me know if you would like to chat anything through. I would be glad to help.
Best regards,
Adrian
I have read a lot about branding and the most interesting books have all featured making your brand a person, following the architypes that we all understand.
The Hero, The Outlaw, The Sage, The Magician and so on.
By building your brand around an image you create a stronger relationship with your customers since they can identify with the brand and feel like they become the brand when they use it.
Hi Daniel,
Thank you for your comment. I agree that having a brand develop a persona, like you suggest, is useful for increasing engagement with customers but the key is making sure that persona is consistent with the that of the business and its people so that the brand runs through the whole business, both outside and in.
Adrian
That’s exactly right Adrian.
You need to make the brand speak to the customers, they have to identify and so does everyone in the organisation.
Your whole business has to “live the brand” otherswise it will become painfully obvious that the image you are trying to create isn’t true.
Hi Daniel,
Exactly right. Live the brand or else pay the consequences of getting found out of being ‘fake’.
Thanks for the comment and adding to the conversation π
Adrian
Hi Adrian!
This is a theme that I keep running into across the interwebs. Hmm, I better listen up! π
Yes, it is so uber important that your brand is “printed on the inside” (love how you put that!) of your business, as well as on the outside! It can truly make or break not just your brand but your company! If the way you treat your customers, for example, does not live how to how you say you’ll treat them – they’ll quickly catch on and stop being customers.
Hi Jess,
Thanks for stopping by and your comment. Completely agree that it will catch up on you. The interwebs are creating great mechanisms for customers to really find out and share what a business is really like and if it matches its brand promises. Brand is changing to be about what someone says about you not what you say about yourself. Businesses that want to grow need to pay heed.
Adrian
Oh so true, Adrian! Which means that the really great businesses will thrive, and the not-so-great will no longer be able to be successful while being inconsistent! π
Aye, Jess, aye.
Who’s up for making more rock? π
lol – definitely count me in. π
Great piece Adrian! My recent business re-brand definitely started from the inside out – from working eith my coach in February to honing the idea at and after Christine Livingston’s workshop where you and I met hhis summer. If you brand stands for anything, it has to be completely authentic and that starts from looking within.
Hi Kate,
I can see that from speaking to you the other day at the local TweetUp. I commend that you spent the time and energy to find out the real writing that’s inside your rock.
Thanks for dropping by and commenting. See you again soon,
Adrian
Oh thank you what a lovely thing to say π
Oops sorry for the typos…the iPhone keyboard is a little small !
RT @adrianswinscoe: Is your brand like Brighton Rock? http://bit.ly/iiI2lB